February 2003
General | Grades K-2 | Grades 3-5 | Grades 6-8 | Grades 9-12
Cyberscoop issues seem to get longer each month
as I find new sites in Cyberspace to help you use technology in education.
I discover, however, that more K-12 sites are charging fees or subscriptions
to access their resources. We are committed to strive to bring you free
resources to help you access the best in educational information.
Thanks for your suggestions and recommendations of resources to add to
our TEAMS site. I hope you will continue to pass the word to your colleagues
that TEAMS is the best one-stop resource for all your educational needs.
I add new sites daily to our TEAMS pages, and make every effort to correct
broken links. If you have a favorite site that is not on our pages, please
continue to let me know. Also, if you find broken links, your input would
be greatly appreciated.
Remember to check through all grade level resources as you find time,
as many sites are suitable for other grade levels.
Here are this month's finds:
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Administrators
Assessment/ Standards
The American Association of School Administrators provides these timely
articles on assessment and meeting standards of interest to educators.
http://www.aasa.org/issues_and_insights/assessment/index.htm
The Digital Divide and Digital Equity
Resources, articles, people and businesses working to find solution, urban
education, tools for democracy, digital equity, and more.
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Teachers/digitaldivide.html
Electronic Events Calendar
E2CAL is a free community calendar service that allows you to maintain
a school or district calendar to which grade levels can add events, news,
and meetings as you allow. This sharing of information can be integrated
into your existing Web site without advertising banners.
http://www.ManagedTime.com/
ESEA Title I LEA Allocations
Year 2002 federal Title I grants to LEAs information can be accessed here.
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/TitleILEAs/FY02allocations/index.html
Explorations in Learning & Instructions: The Theory into Practice
Database
This site contains summaries of 50 major theories of learning and instruction
to make this information more accessible to educators.
http://tip.psychology.org/
Falling through the Net: Defining the Digital Divide
What is the "digital divide"? How does it impact you, your school
district, your students and their community?
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/digitaldivide/
Free Brainstorming Training
Everything you always wanted to know about brainstorming plus a whole
lot more. Includes traditional brainstorming techniques and advanced brainstorming
strategies.
http://www.brainstorming.co.uk/tutorials/tutorialcontents.html
Grade Book Software
Descriptions and links to a number of grade book software programs- some
with free trial demos available.
http://www.theeducatorsnetwork.com/software/gb.htm
Healthy School Environments
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides this link to resources
designed to address environmental health issues in schools.
http://cfpub.epa.gov/schools/index.cfm
Home Computers and Internet Use in the United States, August 2000
The report of the U.S. Census Bureau indicates the presence of home computers
and use of the Internet is up from the previous years although the numbers
are still down for poor and minority households.
http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/p23-207.pdf
NetDay CyberSecurity Kits for Schools
Includes a Story about CyberSecurity for Children, action items to secure
home computers, items school principals should know, and more.
http://www.netday.org/cyber_security_kit.htm
New Horizons for Learning
Connections to brain research, ideas for transforming education, teaching
and learning strategies, special needs/ inclusion, perspectives on the
future, issues for lifelong learning, and more. Also includes a free quarterly
journal.
http://www.newhorizons.org/index.html
Parenting and Discipline
Great articles, handouts, and advice for helping parents discipline their
children.
http://www.crisiscounseling.com/Parenting/1Parenting.htm
Retiring Old Computers?
Discarded computer hard drives often contain sensitive information such
as student addresses or academic records. Read about what two MIT students
found in some discarded old computers, and find out how to get personal
material off the machines.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryalert.cfm?ArticleID=4202
Service Learning- Los Angeles
Find ways to encourage the use of service as a strategy in meeting academic
standards, educational goals, and community needs while fostering a sense
of civic responsibility in young people.
http://www.lacoe.edu/servicelearningla/
Tests Find USA, Not Students, Lacking
This US News and World Report editorial by Arthur Levine points out that
increased standards and testing do not heal "diseased" schools,
rather the emphasis should be on closing the achievement gap between students
from the poorer, urban schools and the children in wealthier suburban
schools.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2003-01-07-levine_x.htm
Web-Based Drug Treatment Program
Read how school computers are being used to help teens get the drug-rehab
treatment they need.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryalert.cfm?ArticleID=4204
General
African American Women's History
Resources on Early America and slavery, African American Nurses, organizations
of African American women, and more.
http://womenshistory.about.com/cs/africanamerican/
Black History Hotlist
A collection of internet sites to assist in the study of African American
history and issues.
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/BHM/bh_hotlist.html
Free Sheet Music Downloads
Sheet music of all varieties available for free, create your own sheet
music, find instrument bargains, or find sheet music that y9ou thought
was hard to find.
http://www.freesheetmusic.net/
Graduating Peter
HBO site for a documentary about Peter, a young man with Down Syndrome.
The film crew chronicles his mainstreaming experiences from sixth grade
through high school graduation.
http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/graduating_peter/
The History of Costume
Braun & Schneider's history of costume site contains prints of many
of the original 500 costume designs from the book originally published
from 1861 to 1880. Shown are pictures of costumes from ancient civilizations
to the end of the 19th century from all over the world.
http://www.siue.edu/COSTUMES/history.html
Homework: What are the Issues?
Article with issues, problems, and solutions in dealing with the homework
dilemma.
http://www.ncte.org/pdfs/members-only/st/ST0051October99.pdf
How Language Really Works
The Fundamentals of Critical Reading and Effective writing are outlined
at this site by Dan Kurland. Lots of additional resources here by clicking
on the alternative indexes.
http://www.criticalreading.com/
Invention At Play
The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation hosts this
site focusing on how play often leads to inventions. Learn about inventors,
create some inventions of your own in the inventor's sketchbook or in
the invention playhouse, and explore the history of play.
http://www.si.edu/lemelson/centerpieces/iap/index.html
Listening Quizzes
From Randall's ESL Listening Lab choose from easy, medium and difficult
as well as short listening exercises, academic purposes, and long conversations.
http://www.esl-lab.com/index.htm
Local Wildlife Guides
Get a free wildlife guide on the birds, butterflies, mammals, reptiles,
trees, and wildflowers in your local area. Just enter your email address
and zip code.
http://www.enature.com/localguide/localguide_home.asp
Matrix of WebQuest Examples
Make sure you check Bernie Dodge's WebQuest page frequently as new WebQuests
are being added all the time. Indexed by content areas and grade levels.
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/matrix.html
Monster Motel
Students can visit the monster motel, discover the monsters inside, create
their own monster complete with descriptions they write themselves in
poetry or prose.
http://kotn.ntu.ac.uk/motel/
My Teacher Software
Have a little extra money to spend on software? Check out what's available
here.
http://www.theeducatorsnetwork.com/software/
National Children's Dental Health Month
Sponsored by the American Dental Association, February is National Children's
Dental Health Month with the theme " Don't let your smile become
extinct!". Find teaching resources and related links to celebrate
all month long.
http://www.ada.org/public/topics/ncdhm/index.html
A Nation Online
Report from the National Telecommunications & Information Administration
dated February of 2002 on how Americans are expanding their use of the
Internet.
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/dn/index.html
Periscope: Black History Month
South Carolina Educational Television presents these resources for Black
history Month with biographical sketches of Dr. Carter Woodson, Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., Ruby Bridges, and others from South Carolina.
http://cfmedia.scetv.org/periscope/display/
Popcorn!
The Popcorn Board provides yummy fun and learning with lesson plans for
teachers, games for kids, and recipes for all.
http://www.popcorn.org/index.cfm
Quick Facts About Reading
Reading is complex because language itself is pretty complicated, but
the special skills of reading are pretty manageable.
http://www.aability.com/quick.html
Quotes of the Day
Four new quotes each day for those motivated by the wisdom of others.
http://www.quotationspage.com/qotd.html
Read* Write*Think
Provides teachers and students with the highest quality language arts
resources including lesson plans, standards, web resources, and literacy
projects.
http://www.readwritethink.org/
A Road Map for Designing WebQuests
Bernie Dodge has created a PowerPoint presentation to teach you step-by-step
in creating a WebQuest for your students. Links take you directly to templates,
evaluation strategies, rubric suggestions and more.
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/roadmap/
Saving Teachers Money
Sign up for a free weekly newsletter or check the resource links for lots
of free or low cost materials.
http://www.SavingTeachersMoney.com/
See Learning in a Whole New Light
Educators share their experiences in NASA's Educator Astronaut program.
Nominate your teacher for the program, find out what life is really like
living in Space, and join the Earth crew to become a part of the NASA
program yourself.
http://edspace.nasa.gov/
Social Studies Teacher Resources
McMillan / McGraw-Hill social Studies Teacher resources for grades 3-
7.
http://www.mmhschool.com/teach/ss/adventuresintimeandplace/teachres/weblesson/findwl.php3
Spam Remedies: Some Special Federal Government Address for Reporting Spam
Joe St. Sauver from the University of Oregon has compiled some resources
for you to report certain types of unwanted, unsolicited email.
http://cc.uoregon.edu/cnews/fall2002/spamreport.html
Stock Market Game
Learn about the stock market by investing a hypothetical $100,000.00 in
Nasdaq, Amex or NYSE- listed common stocks over a 10-15 week period. Students
learn about economics, finance and the American economic system. This
project does require a minimal fee.
http://www.smg2000.org/index.html
The Teach Act
The Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act is now law.
The Copyright Crash Course provides the details including Section 110(2)'s
rights as well as a handy checklist to see if you are meeting the required
conditions.
http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/teachact.htm
Teach Tool Kit
It is not copyright infringement for teachers and students to use copyrighted
works as part of a class if certain conditions are met. Otherwise, use
of the material will have to qualify as fair use, or permission from the
copyright holder(s) must be obtained. North Carolina State University
offers these guidelines.
http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/scc/legislative/teachkit/
Testing, Teaching, Learning?
PBS Frontline presents numerous interviews with top educators who reflect
on today's testing strategies as they influence teaching and learning.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/schools/testing/
UVIC's Language Teaching Clipart Library
1500 images for you to choose from in the teaching of basic vocabulary.
http://web.uvic.ca/hcmc/clipart/
You've Got Spam: How to "Can" Unwanted Email
The Federal Trade Commission offers these facts for consumers in getting
rid of all those junk email messages that show up in your inbox.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/online/inbox.htm
Valentine's Day Resources
Collected by the Grosse Pointe Public School System, find crafts, cards,
easy to make projects, stories, historical references and more.
http://www.gpschools.org/ci/ce/K8home/val.htm
Working With Words
Make words from letters that make up larger words.
http://www.oswego.org/testprep/ela4/wwwords2.html
Grades K-2
Between the Lions
PBS site for 4-7-year-olds.
http://pbskids.org/lions/
Chateau MeddyBumps- K-2
Fun-filled site with learning games, stories, parent and teacher guides.
http://www.meddybemps.com/
Free Kindergarten Math Worksheets
Printable worksheets including count and color, count and trace, matching,
connect the dots, what's next, and more. Links for grades 2-5 worksheets.
http://www.kidzone.ws/math/kindergarten.htm
Great Plant Escape
Solve 6 mysteries about plants as you investigate how plants grow.
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/gpe.html
Kindergarten Kafe
Archived ideas for lessons from years past from 1996- 2001.
http://www.kkafe.net
Math Idea of the Month- Kindergarten
http://www.mhschool.com/teach/math/mhmath/teachres/mathideaofthemonth/mathIdeaArchive.php3?GL=k
Math Idea of the Month- Grade One
http://www.mhschool.com/teach/math/mhmath/teachres/mathideaofthemonth/mathIdeaArchive.php3?GL=1
Math Idea of the Month- Grade Two
http://www.mhschool.com/teach/math/mhmath/teachres/mathideaofthemonth/mathIdeaArchive.php3?GL=2
Teaching Tools for Dental Health Month
Oral B Learning Center provides K-5 lesson plans to help meet health standards
for dental care.
http://www.oralb.com/learningcenter/teaching/
Why Does Chocolate Melt in Your Hand?
Perform this experiment and watch solid chocolate turn to liquid and find
out why.
http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/events/fow/fowtfkv2n3/htm/melt.htm
Grades 3-5
BubbleTown
Have fun with bubble engineering: learn about blowing huge bubbles, long-lasting
bubbles, play bubble games, make different kinds of bubble solutions,
try your skills with bubble tricks and more.
http://www.zurqui.co.cr/crinfocus/bubble/bubble.html
Cleo and Theo's Anywhere Games
PBS' Between the Lions characters, Cleo and Theo host this site of games
to be played when you can run around, games with a pencil and paper, games
when you have to sit still, and games to play with a bunch of kids.
http://pbskids.org/lions/anywhere/
Elementary Math Resources
Collected and maintained by Bernie Poole.
http://www.pitt.edu/~poole/eledmath.html
Explore Mars Now
Explore the Martian habitat in this interactive simulation of what it
may be like for astronauts landing on the moon in the relatively near
future. In addition to the space station, greenhouse, robot rover and
habitat, there is a section on Mars facts.
http://www.exploremarsnow.org/
Healthy Teeth
Find out about cavities, braces, teeth and gums, perform experiments,
visit a dentist, play games, and more.
http://www.healthyteeth.org/
Musical Spelling Rules
Teach a song to help students learn spelling rules. This one is for doubling
the consonant, but you'll find links to 3 more songs for rules: silent
e, y spelling rule, and rules for plurals. Brought to you by Garden of
Praise.
http://gardenofpraise.com/spell1.htm
What's a Cavity?
Learn more about dental health by exploring what cavities are, how you
get them and what can be done to save the tooth.
http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/cavity.html
Wise Pockets
This site provides lesson ideas for trade books that can help young children
learn about personal finance.
http://www.umsl.edu/~wpockets/schoolhouse/lessons/lessons.html
Wonderville
The Science Alberta Foundation presents this science site for kids where
they can explore science facts, engage in science experiments, and find
out about science careers.
http://www.wonderville.ca/home.html
Grades 6-8
Activities for Pi Mathematics
Lesson plan inviting students to explore pi. Includes history, activities,
information video, project, and application.
http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Edu/RSE/RSEorange/Piactivities.html
Alliteration in Headline Poems
English lesson for middle school students working with alliteration. Included
are examples, student assignment and worksheets, and additional Web resources
from ReadoWriteoThink.
http://readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=81
Ancient Creature of the Deep
PBS companion site to the NOVA program about the Coelacanth- a fish survivor
from the age of the dinosaurs that has changed little in its 400 million
years on Earth.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/fish/
Civil War Project (8th grade)
This 2-week project contains WebQuests, student self-assessment, and teacher
evaluation rubric.
http://curriculum.k12.sd.us/ds063/Civil%20War.htm
The Function Institute
A definition of functions and a look at linear, polynomial, rational,
exponential, and trigonometric functions including the intersections of
two-dimensional functions.
http://id.mind.net/~zona/mmts/functionInstitute/functionInstitute.html
Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher
M. C. Escher's tesselations, polyhedra, and the shape and logic of space
is looked at mathematically.
http://www.mathacademy.com/pr/minitext/escher/
Narragansett Pier Middle School Technology Curriculum
This 5-8 school shares their technology scope and sequence, essential
questions, performance indicators, performance standards, and assessment
procedures.
http://www.narragansett.k12.ri.us/NPS/tech2002/TechCurr/index.htm
Sowing Seeds in a Magnetic Field
How do plants always know to make the roots grow down and the plant grow
up? Experiments involving the sowing of seeds in space may need a little
help from magnets for this process.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/15may_maggrav.htm
Grades 9-12
Algebra I Math Standards of Learning
Great resources for teaching and learning algebra I based on standards.
Includes tutorials, lesson plans, practice exercises, and more.
http://141.104.22.210/VDOE/Instruction/wmstds/alg1.shtml
Bilingual Vocabulary Quizzes
Access many quizzes in numerous languages. Also includes English vocabulary
quizzes for SAT preparation.
http://iteslj.org/v/
Blood at the Source
Tips from a published writer of mysteries on how to do background research.
These ideas might put a new spin on the traditional research paper.
http://www.barbarafister.com/BloodattheSource.html
The Great Depression
An extensive collection of resources including primary sources and WebQuests
centered on the Great Depression era in the United States.
http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/depression.htm
John Donne
Lessons and activities for working with the poetry and meditations of
John Donne.
http://webenglishteacher.com/donne.html
Knowing Poe
Maryland Public television presents Edgar Allen Poe as a person and a
writer with biographical information including a tour of his home in Baltimore,
interactive timelines of his works and 19th century history, a downloadable
video version of "The Raven", and many 40- minute lessons for
grades 4- 9.
http://knowingpoe.thinkport.org/default_flash.asp
Life Interrupted
Story of two Japanese Internment camps in Rowher and Jerome, Arkansas,
housing thousands of Californian Japanese Americans during World War II.
Contains historical background, interactive timeline, photos, panoramas,
and facts for students and teachers.
http://www.lifeinterrupted.org/
Math Standards of Trigonometry
Excellent resources here with lessons and references galore!
http://141.104.22.210/VDOE/Instruction/wmstds/trigon.shtml
National Civil Rights Museum
Numerous virtual exhibits for you to explore concerning the history of
civil rights in America.
http://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/
Ninth Grade Math Practice Questions
Based on the Ohio State Math Proficiency Test, here are math practice
questions.
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/p_test/math_pro1.html
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Lessons designed for grade 4 through high school based on The Hound of
the Baskervilles and other stories featuring Sherlock Holmes.
http://webenglishteacher.com/doyle.html
Vietnam Women's Memorial Project
Celebrating the thousands of women who volunteered to serve their country
during the Vietnam conflict, many of whom gave their lives, comes this
"Legacy of Healing and Hope".
http://www.vietnamwomensmemorial.org/intro.html
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